Kangogo Named C-USA Athlete of the MeetTCU Men Finish Second; Women Tie for Eighth at C-USA Championships

Kip Kangogo won four events at the C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Feb. 26, 2005

Houston, Texas - Kip Kangogo captured the gold medal in both the mile and 3,000 meter runs on Saturday, giving him four gold medals and Athlete of the Meet honors, as the Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championships came to an end at the Bill Yeoman Field House on the University of Houston campus. Kangogo's 32.5 points helped TCU to a second place finish in the men's team scoring. It marked the seventh straight year that the Flyin' Frogs have finished either first or second at the conference indoor championships. Houston captured both the men's and women's team titles, while the TCU women finished in a tie for eighth place.

Kangogo, who won the 5,000 meter run and anchored TCU's winning distance medley relay on Friday, established the early pace in the mile before surrendering the lead to Houston's Sesar Figueroa, the defending conference champion, with about three laps to go. Undeterred, the junior from Kabarnet, Kenya, regained the lead with a little over half a mile left and pulled away for a relatively easy win in 4:07.89. Figueroa was second in 4:09.43, a second and a half faster than his winning time in 2004. Jackson Langat picked up three team points with a sixth place finish, covering the distance in 4:17.27. Johnathan Bundren just missed earning a point with a ninth place finish (4:18.47), while Houston Bolin placed 12th in 4:27.12.

Kangogo showed tremendous fitness by coming back in the 3,000 meter run to win with a time of 8:24.03. He took the lead from Figueroa with about four laps to go and steadily pulled away, winning by more than eight seconds. Steven Solazzo was second in his heat and placed 11th overall with a time of 8:54.42. J.T. Reinert (8:58.42) and Steven Lenney (9:15.77) finished 14th and 19th respectively.

In the team scoring Houston won its third straight indoor crown on the men's side, scoring 166.50 points. TCU was second with 101, to hold off Charlotte (89), East Carolina (82) and Marquette (81.50). On the women's side, the Cougars logged 117 points to earn their third indoor title in the past four years, while TCU, the defending conference champion, finished with 40 points.

"We made it through without any injuries," said TCU head coach Darryl Anderson. "Now we need to get ready for the outdoor season. The men's side went the way I thought it could and we scored over 100 points. I was pleased with those who won events. Being named the MVP of the meet is a big feather in the cap for both Kip and for TCU. I'm disappointed for the women to finish eighth," continued Anderson. "We have a lot of work to do before the outdoor conference meet. We just need to keep working hard."

In the men's 60 meter dash, the Flyin' Frogs garnered 10 points as Cleavon Dillon finished third in 6.81 seconds and freshman Bradley Reed clocked a 6.83 to place fifth.

In the 200 meter dash, a pair of freshmen, Bradley Reed (22.19) and Otis McDaniel (22.51), placed sixth and seventh respectively, while sophomore Deborah Jones placed ninth on the women's side with a time of 25.40.

In the 400 meter dash, sophomore Che Chavez picked up a second place medal with a time of 48.34, while Brett Wilson added two team points with a seventh place finish, posting a time of 49.00. East Carolina's LaShawn Merritt, who owns the fastest time in the world this season, cruised to the victory in a meet record time 46.77. On the women's side, sophomore Marquita Davis earned all-conference accolades with a third place finish, covering the quartermile distance in 56.19. Deborah Jones placed ninth in 56.73.

Jackson Langat earned the silver medal in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.17, behind only Marquette's Jon Shaffer, who covered the half-mile distance in 1:53.48. In the women's 800, Calandra Stewart and Cassie Hostick placed seventh and eighth respectively with times of 2:18.10 and 2:18.79.

In the women's mile run, Calandra Stewart placed fifth with a time of 5:01.77, just ahead of Cassie Hostick, who finished sixth in 5:02.08. The tandem matched TCU's performance from last year's conference meet when Mary Kinyanjui and Stewart finished fifth and sixth respectively in the event.

In the women's 3000 meters, Halie Bullin won her heat and placed 10th overall with a time of 10:10.03. McKale Davis was 23rd, finishing in 10:34.71, while Katrina Zielinski placed 28th with a time of 10:48.85.

In the women's 60 meter hurdles, MaKeatha Cooper was unable to defend her conference title, placing fourth in a time of 8.53 seconds. The sophomore from Grandview, Missouri had run an NCAA provisional time of 8.43 seconds in Friday's prelims. Last year, Cooper won the event in a school record time of 8.30 seconds.

In the men's triple jump event, Jonathan Jackson picked up his second silver medal of the meet. The sophomore from Grand Prairie, Texas, jumped 15.15 meters (49-08.50) on his sixth and final attempt to take second place honors. Jackson placed second in the long jump competition on Friday night. Michael DePriest was 13th in the triple jump with a best mark of 13.62 meters (44-08.25), while Mark Lettieri finished 16th with a jump of 12.20 meters (40-00.50).

In the shot put, sophomore Zelma Wade came up with her best toss of 13.51 meters (44-04.00) on her final attempt to finish in sixth place for the women, while Cody Moore had a mark of 14.69 meters (48-02.50) to place eighth for the TCU men.